Arcadius

But this impression was not to continue for long.

In AD 395, the good emperor Theodosius, the lover of peace and of the Goths, as he was called, died, and left the throne to his two weekly sons, Arcadius and Honorius.

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Caesar-making seemed as easy to the leaders as the sack of provincial churches and treasuries did to the rank and file.

When the personal ascendancy of Theodosius was removed, the empire fell at once into troubles which were inevitable.

Both at the court of Arcadius, who reigned in Constantinople, and at that of Honorius, who had received the West as his share, a war of factions commenced between the German and the Roman party.

Theodosius had distributed so many high military posts to Goths and other Teutons that this influence was almost unbounded.

He was the highest ranking official in the Byzantine Empire in the late 4th century.

He served as the closest advisor to the emperor Arcadius who was ruling in Constantinople.

But Eutropius abused his power and he aroused the anger of the empress at the time, Eudoxia.

They had some difficult names to pronounce back then, amen? Eudoxia orchestrated a campaign against him in a sentence of death.

One day he said to the Empress, I put you on your throne and I can thrust you down.

Eudoxia ran crying to Arcadius, bringing her little children with her, and demanded the expulsion of Eutropius.

And the Emperor, with most unexpected energy, expelled him.

So he fell.

"'Ye see,' he said, "'how uncertain are all the honors of the world.' now the empress eudoxia had caused to be erected in the square fronting the cathedral a statue of herself it was of silver on a porphyry column and on the day when it was set up there was such a clamour outside the church with dancing and singing that chrysostom could scarcely hear himself preach expressed his displeasure in his blunt manner and his words were reported to the empress it was the crisis of a long hatred the anger of the court was confirmed by the anger of the clergy they were all against the righteous bishop all whose evil lives he had condemned the bishop of alexandria had left his own city to trouble chrysostom councils had convened to find some fault in him like the counsels which had made false charges against Athanasius.

The affair of the silver statue brought the full storm upon his head.

Arcadius, whose father Theodosius had trembled before Ambrose, ordered Chrysostom into exile, and he had no friends to help him whose strength was of account in such a struggle.

out he went then into exile and as he went a black smoke began to rise from the city and flames beneath the smoke the cathedral was mysteriously on fire it was destroyed and the great houses of government about it joined in its ruins and beneath the charred and broken beams and stones which filled the square lay the porphyry pedestal and the silver statue of eudoxia they carried the old man under a guard of soldiers the whole length of asia minor from constantinople at the north-western corner to the region above antioch in the south-eastern corner it was much the same journey which bishop flavian had made when he went to intercede for antioch with theodosius but his place of exile was too near his friends to please his enemies letters of sympathy came to him by every mail from the bishop of rome from the bishop of milan from bishops of the east who braved the enmity of the court and every mail carried back letters from chrysostom to his faithful people in constantinople who were suffering for his sake to bishops and churches asking for his counsel he speaks of exile and famine war and pestilence siege and solitude as belonging now to his daily life the place of his exile was bitterly cold in winter and there were brigands who came down from the mountains to steal and kill but he kept his courage and his good cheer at last an imperial order directed that he should be carried north to the shore of the black sea chrysostom was ill and the summer was hot the journey was long and difficult The guards who conducted him had been given to understand that if their prisoner should chance to die by the way, it would be to their advantage.

The emperor Theodosius conquered them with great glory, and, being wholly reduced to his power, they no longer selected a sovereign of their own, but satisfied with the terms which he granted them, lived and fought under his ensigns and authority.

On the death of Theodosius, his sons Arcadius and Honorius succeeded to the empire, but not to the talents and fortune of their father, and the times became changed with the princes.

Theodosius had appointed a governor to each of the three divisions of the empire, Rufinus to the eastern, to the west Stilicho, and Gildo to the African.

Each of these, after the death of Theodosius, determined not to be governors merely, but to assume sovereign dominion over their respective provinces.

Hence it followed that the Vandals, who had occupied that part of Spain called Baetica, now Andalusia, being pressed by the Visigoths and unable to resist them, were invited by Boniface, who governed Africa for the empire, to occupy that province, for, being in rebellion, he was afraid his heir would become known to the emperor.

For these reasons the Vandals gladly undertook the enterprise, and under Genseric, their king, became lords of Africa.

At this time Theodosius, son of Arcadius, succeeded to the empire, and bestowing little attention on the affairs of the West, caused those who had taken possession to think of securing their acquisitions.

Thus the Vandals ruled Africa, the Alans and Visigoths Spain, while the Franks and Burgundians not only took Gaul, but each gave their name to the part they occupied.

As soon as he had passed away, the change set in with frightful rapidity.

He left two young sons, Arcadius and Honorius, under whose names the empire was governed in the east and west respectively.

He left a number of generals and ministers, all of provincial or barbarian origin, to dispute among themselves for the real power of the state.

And not only on all the borders of the empire, but within its provinces, there were tribes and leagues of barbarians of many names, often beaten back and terribly chastised, but ever pushing forward again in fresh numbers, and now in some cases under chiefs who had learned war in the Roman service.

and are tall and handsome to look upon and they use the same laws and practise a common religion for they are all of the aryan faith and have one language called gothic and as it seems to me they all came originally from one tribe and were distinguished later by the names of those who led each group these people used to dwell above the ister river from of old Later on, the Gepides got possession of the country of Syngidunum and Sirmium on both sides of the Ister River, where they have remained settled even down to my time.

But the Visigoths, separating from the others, removed from there and at first entered into an alliance with the emperor Arcadius.

But at a later time, for faith with the romans cannot dwell in barbarians under the leadership of alaric they became hostile to both emperors and beginning with thrace treated all europe as an enemy's land now the emperor honorius had before this time been sitting in rome with never a thought of war in his mind but glad i think if men allowed him to remain quiet in his palace but when word was brought that the barbarians with a great army were not far off but somewhere among the tolanti he abandoned the palace and fled in disorderly fashion to ravenna a strong city lying just about at the end of the ionian gulf while some say that he brought in the barbarians himself because an uprising had been started against him among his subjects but this does not seem to me trustworthy, as far at least as one can judge from the character of the man.

The barbarians, finding that they had no hostile force to encounter them, came to be most cruel to all men, for they destroyed all the cities which they captured, especially those south of the Ionian Gulf, so completely that nothing was left to my time to know them by.

Later on the Gepides got possession of the country of Thingedunum and Sermium on both sides of the Ister River, where they have remained settled even down to my time.

But the Visigoths, separating from the others, removed from there and at first entered into an alliance with the emperor Arcadius.

But at a later time, for faith with the Romans cannot dwell in barbarians, under the leadership of Alaric they became hostile to both emperors, and beginning with Thrace treated all Europe as an enemy's land.

Now the emperor Honorius had before this time been sitting in Rome, with never a thought of war in his mind, but glad, I think, if men allowed him to remain quiet in his palace.

As soon as he had passed away, the change set in with frightful rapidity.

He left two young sons, Arcadius and Honorius, under whose names the empire was governed in the East and West respectively.

He left a number of generals and ministers, all of provincial or barbarian origin, to dispute among themselves for the real power of the state.

And not only on all the borders of the empire, but within its provinces, there were tribes and leagues of barbarians of many names, often beaten back and terribly chastised, but ever pushing forward again in fresh numbers, and now in some cases under chiefs who had learned war in the Roman service.